Just a few weeks after the recent update on their upcoming album IV - One With The Storm, Finnish metallers Ghost Brigade have now released a two-minute teaser on YouTube. The teaser, made by Anssi Korhonen, features snippets of what we can expect from the album. Not only that but they also showed us the cover artwork that will grace the album as well as the tracklist.

Just three months after announcing that they're back in the game, Swedish prog/death metallers In Mourning have parted ways with founding member and drummer Christian Netzell. The reason for this sad departure was stated to be "mainly due to musical differences" and there are no hard feelings whatsoever. Mattias Bender will replace Christian as a stand-in drummer for the upcoming live shows.

Well, it seems that we can expect an early treat for 2014, this time from the Greek prog black metallers Hail Spirit Noir whose debut album Pneuma was released in 2012. Titled OI MAGOI and featuring 7 tracks, the release date for this "black, filthy and psychedelic" trip is set for January 20th, 2014, through Code666 Records. The band has also revealed the artwork and you can see it below.

Two days after sharing a mysterious photo that seemingly reveals pre-production material on their Facebook page, the Swedish prog/melodic death metallers In Mourning officially announced that they're working on a new album. According to their statement, the band had been on hold for almost a year due to "family issues" but now they're back in full force.

It has been a rough year as another fine studio project has stopped all activities until further notice. Citing the absence of "conditions or motivation" to continue further, the Portuguese prog act Vertigo Steps announced the grim news through their Facebook page.

Finland's progressive melodic death metal outfit Barren Earth has parted ways with their vocalist Mikko Kotamäki due to conflicting schedules. As stated by the band, it was done by mutual agreement with "absolutely no drama involved" and the band will continue to work on new material while looking for someone to fill in his shoes.

If you are a fan of Christian Älvestam's work, then you might have the chance to hear some new material from one of his oldest bands known as Unmoored which was formed prior to his glorious days in Scar Symmetry.

In a sad twist of events, Deftones' bassist Chi Cheng passed away at the hospital last night due to a heart attack after showing apparent signs of improvement in his recovery following a terrible car accident back in 2008 which left him with brain damage, then falling into a coma. He was 42.

It seems like fans of Scandinavian super-group Solution .45 can expect a new treat in the near future as the band is working on new musical ideas and tracks. Jani Stefanovic, the band's guitarist, posted an update on the band's official Facebook page.

Following the announcement of a new album and the release of a trailer, death metallers Verminous have released a new song titled "Hordes Ov Vermin". For those who are interested in seeing if the band has anything fresh to offer after ten years, you can check it out below.

As if the previous updates didn't persuade us enough to keep our fingers crossed for a new release this year from the Finnish metallers, Ghost Brigade have announced that they have re-signed their contract with the French renowned label Season Of Mist. This seemed to be a perfect opportunity for the band to introduce two new band members entering their line-up: Joni Saalamo on bass (replacing Janne Julin) and Joni Vanhanen on keyboards, which indicates the band has finally settled on a new, permanent keyboardist.

Californian sludge/post-metal alchemists Intronaut have premiered a new song titled "Milk Leg" from their upcoming album Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones). It can be streamed over here. "Milk Leg" is also set to be released as the album's first 7" and digital single on February 5th featuring artwork by Randy Ortiz.

With a fruitful year behind them, Ghost Brigade seem to be preparing to release some new material. The band's guitarist Wille Naukkarinen finally gave fans some news on what's going on in their camp in his interview with Metalfuzz.com.

The Swedish death metal outfit Verminous has recently released a new teaser for their upcoming album The Unholy Communion, set to be released on April 1st, 2013 via Xtreem Music. You can watch the teaser below. The Unholy Communion is the band's sophomore release, after a ten-year gap following the release of Impious Sacrilege in 2003.

The Russian band Kauan has announced that the recording process for their new album has been stopped temporarily due to an equipment issue. The band's fifth record will be exclusively released through Blood Music in early 2013.